Smart water meter refers to water meters having following features:
- Communication facility for consumer and utilities for monitoring and billing purpose.
- Alarm for leakage, tampering or manipulation in the metering.
- Ability to read multiple readings at set intervals.
Positive displacement meters contributed with the majority share in the global smart water meter market during the historical period; however, its share is expected to decline due to the emergence of advanced technology meters such as electromagnetic meters.
Water utilities was the largest revenue generating application area for the smart water meter during the historical period. The share of revenue contribution to the global market from residential applications is expected to increase during the forecast period.
The global smart water meter market is growing with double digit owing to increasing demand for optimal use of water. The non-revenue water is one of the major challenges for the water utilities as well as governments. The surging water crisis further elevates the demand for a sustainable solution towards water management. Water utilities are the major consumers of smart water meter and it is expected to lead the market during the forecast period. This is due to their requirement of channelizing the delivery modes of large amount of water. The governments in certain countries are taking initiatives to improve water infrastructure with the installation of smart water meters.
The key opportunity areas in the smart water meter market include prospects laid by IoT infrastructural development and emergence of Middle-East & Africa as a high-growth market. However, the high cost of smart water meters remains as a major hindrance towards its wide acceptance. The other restraints in the growth of market include negative perception of residential consumers and lack of operational infrastructure in the underdeveloped and developing countries.
Some of the key players operating in this market include Badger Meter, Itron, Landis+Gyr, Elster Group, Kamstrup, Aclara Technologies, Sensus, Neptune, Diehl and Acquiba.